Fleeting Caress
by Anisky
Summary: He comes to her sometimes. They guard their hearts too well, yet not at all. J/S
1. Chapter 1

Title: Fleeting Caress  
Author: Anisky  
Summary: He comes to her sometimes. They guard their hearts too well, yet not at all.  
Rating: This chapter, G. Eventually, though, I expect it to be R.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it!

-

Chapter 1

The first time he came to her was three months after she ran his Labyrinth.

Sarah had been reading a book by the pond when she'd fallen asleep. The sun was already starting to set by the time she'd woken again. She awoke with a shiver; summer was slowly fading and a subtle bite of chill had begun to permeate the evening air.

Through her sleepy haze, Sarah registered a hand gently stroking her hair, and that whatever she was resting her head on was much more comfortable than the grass. And it was warm… it was a leg.

All at once she was entirely awake.

She twisted around while at the same time trying to sit up. She was only halfway there when she'd turned enough to see the face of the man who was touching her so tenderly.

"Goblin King!" she said, too shocked to move from her uncomfortable position.

"Sarah," he replied, inclining his head slightly.

Jareth chuckled as he saw her jaw drop; she still seemed frozen in place. Seeing the goose bumps forming on her arms, he gathered her up into his lap. He cradled her there, like he might a child, one arm gently supporting her back. She could look at his face, now, without twisting herself around.

"You're cold," he said. He wrapped his arms around her to warm her up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still too dazed to pull away from him.

"Do I need a reason to come and visit you, love?"

Sarah furrowed her forehead, a mannerism that caused Jareth to smile almost tenderly and brush a lock of hair out of her face.

"Well, yes," she said.

"And why is that?" he asked her.

"Well… well… why _would _you?"

He chuckled and ran his fingertips along her back. "You seem intent upon going in circles," he teased her; "it's a wonder you ever made it through my Labyrinth."

Sarah tried to shake herself out of her daze. She wasn't sure why she was acting this way; she supposed that while she'd stood up to the idea of him admirably, and forged her way through the Labyrinth, she'd always felt a bit awed in the presence of the King of the Goblins himself.

And this was such an odd setting in which to find him, in the peaceful, familiar park that had been the backdrop of her childhood playacting and fantasy games.

Games in which she'd meet someone exactly like him.

Perhaps it was so strange partly because it was so unexpectedly fitting.

"Are you really here for no reason at all?" she asked finally.

He smiled. "Just checking in on an old friend," he said.

"And then you stopped by to visit me afterwards?" she asked.

He threw his head back and laughed.

"Well, friends issue aside, we haven't actually known each other very long," she pointed out. "I couldn't be called an 'old' _anything_ of yours, friend, nemesis or otherwise."

His lips quirked upwards slightly. "Touché," he said. "Just stopping by to see a new friend, then."

"Are we?" she asked. "Friends?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because you stole my brother away and then I beat your Labyrinth?" Sarah suggested.

"You asked that I take him," Jareth reminded her.

"I know." Sarah had actually thought about that quite a bit in the past few months; if she'd still had him cast so firmly as the villain, she would have run far away from this spot long before now.

"And I offered you the chance to run," he continued. "So, there's no need for hard feelings."

"Are you suggesting a truce?"

He cocked his head to the side. "I suppose I am."

"You really want to be my friend?" It was difficult not to feel flattered at the prospect. "Why?"

"No one else has solved the Labyrinth," Jareth admitted to her. "I'm sure you can imagine I'm a bit interested in learning more about the soul who could do that."

Sarah smiled, slowly. It was the fantasy she'd dreamed of without the life-and-death consequences. There was no way she could turn that down.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she said jokingly.

He squeezed her in his arms. "Deal."

Twilight had ended by now, and it was completely dark. School would not start for a couple more weeks, and Sarah was not expected to baby-sit that night, and though she hadn't planned to be out very late she had several hours before she'd have to worry about curfew. Anyway, it didn't seem nearly so chilly with the Goblin King cradling her in his arms.

She paused for a moment when she realized exactly what she'd said. Words had power with this man, she knew. She should be a bit more careful what kind of promises she made when dealing with him. What had she just said? She'd just promised to show him her soul.

Just promised to bare her soul to him, so long as he bared his to hers. When Sarah shivered this time, it had nothing to do with the temperature.

"What do you want to know?" she asked timidly.

And they talked, and to her surprise, it was easy. Her heart soared when she could make him laugh, and she was amazed to find a person, a real person, behind what had before been just a façade of arrogance.

Not that he didn't still have arrogance in spades.

They tired of sitting after a while, and Sarah suggested they take a walk. She was still in his lap, and he released her from his arms and allowed her to rise. He stood up a moment later. They looked at each other for a moment, then both turned to walk along the bank of the pond, towards the woods. Jareth put an arm around her to keep him warm; she smiled up at him in thanks.

"Why were you so frightening in the Labyrinth?" she asked him, pressing her cheek against the fabric of his tunic.

"It was my role. You wished me to be frightening," he told her. "Just as you wished your baby brother to me."

"But why did you do as I wished?" Sarah asked.

"The rules of the game," he said.

"We hadn't started the game when I wished away Toby."

"Ah, on the contrary—" he glanced down at her and gave her a sensual grin, made to look almost feral by his two sharp incisors "—those were the words that began the game."

"Words to begin the game, and those to end it," Sarah said.

"Yes." He nodded.

"And you must grant all the wishes of those who start the game?"

"No. Not all," he said. "Just some."

"Which ones?"

The clock tower chimed ten, each toll carrying from above them and beyond the forest. She really should be heading home soon if she didn't want Karen and her father angry with her. She had been better, more responsible the past few months, and they would perhaps let more slide now than they might have in the past, but that could easily change if she started rebelling against the rules again.

Sarah looked up at the clock placidly, and made no move to extract herself from Jareth's arm.

"The ones that matter," he said. "The ones that are pure. And the ones which intrigue me."

"Which were mine?" she had to inquire.

He chuckled softly. "Ah, now, that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

She could press him, she supposed, based on their deal, but she did not. Already she was seeing so much more of him that she had ever dreamt possible. Once in a while she wondered if perhaps this really was a dream; but the warmth of his body, the cool of the night, the softness of his clothing brushing against his skin, the rich timbre of his voice and his laugh… all of these things were much too real to be a dream.

Finally, after many long hours the moon began to set on the horizon. Soon the sun would be rising. Her parents would be so worried, she knew; she'd known it all along but still had not torn herself away. But the setting of the moon called her back to reality, in a way, and she knew that she had to leave.

She looked up at him sadly. "I've stayed too long," she admitted to him. "Much longer than I should have."

He gazed back down on her face with an unreadable expression. "I, too, I suppose," he said. "I do not think I was even supposed to come at all."

Sarah pressed her lips together; she'd promised to bare her soul. "I'm glad you did," she breathed.

He hesitated for a moment, brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, then leaned down to kiss her forehead gently.

"Go," he said. "Thank you for this night."

"Thank you, too," she said. She looked down, and blushed. She took a few steps away from him, backwards. She didn't want to turn away from him because she didn't want him to leave. She knew that when he did, she would feel strangely bereft; though she did not feel entirely _safe_ in his presence, having him beside her gave her a feeling of completion that she did not want to relinquish. But finally, she knew, she had to. She locked eyes with his, nodded to him slightly in goodbye, then turned to start the journey from the park towards her home.

She turned around to look back, just in time to see an owl launch into flight and soar over the treetops. She sighed, a bit wistfully, and turned to continue her walk home, knowing she would have to face irate parents when she arrived.

Over the next few months, she kept expecting to see him again; but as the weeks went by and still she never saw him, she thought that maybe that was the end. She tried not to let it hurt, and told herself that maybe he just wanted to settle things with her so that she could look back on him and on his world with fondness.

-

-

A/N: This may seem like a one-shot, but it's definitely a chaptered piece; currently I'm planning on seven chapters in all. Please read and review!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Fleeting Caress  
Author: Anisky  
Summary: He comes to her sometimes. They guard their hearts too well, yet not at all.  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it!

A/N: First off, thanks to those of you who reviewed! I saw that most of you expect this to be a sweet, gentle sort of piece. The first chapter was like that, but, um, fair warning, that is definitely not the planned tone of the overallfic. I wouldn't classify it as Evil Jareth or anything, but... let's just say he's very far from a fluffy little bunny.

A/N 2: Sorry, yeah, this is unbetaed. I apologize for any errors. If anyone wants to beta for this, let me know!

-

Chapter 2

The second time he showed up, she was out on a date with her first ever boyfriend. She'd met Nathan at school, during the fall musical; she'd managed to land a pretty decent role, not the lead, but a fairly important supporting character. He'd been in the band, playing saxophone. He'd been a little shy at first, and it had taken him several weeks of furtive glances and hopeful smiles before he worked up the courage to ask her out. It was a nice relationship, they made a cute couple. Sarah enjoyed it.

On their one-month anniversary, Nathan had taken her out to what qualified to sixteen-year-olds as a nice restaurant. She liked that he treated the occasion as special; many of Sarah's girlfriends complained that their boyfriends never took them anywhere nice or bought them flowers, but Nathan tended to go for those little romantic gestures.

By that time, she'd given up on ever seeing Jareth again. She'd been disappointed, since the idea of being able to call the King of the Goblins her friend had been a very exciting one, but she accepted it. So she'd been extremely startled when, as she exited the ladies' room to head back to their table and share dessert, she walked smack into a man's chest, a man definitely taller and more muscular than her boyfriend. She'd already realized before she looked up to see his face that it wasJareth , though how she knew she couldn't quite say-- something mundane, like his scent or his stance or build? Or perhaps something more mysterious...magical?

Realizing suddenly that she was still standing so close to Jareth that her face was almost brushing his chest, she took a swift step backwards, with a blush.

"Oh. Hi," she said, somewhat awkwardly, as she was rather confused. She'd held out some hope that he might visit her again, after all, but she had no idea what he was doing _here, _of all place.

"Hello," he replied, and he of course was not awkward at all. He was the very antithesis of awkward, and even dressed appropriately in black trousers and a collared shirt he seemed regal. "And how are you doing?"

"Er, quite well, thank you," she answered, voice a bit higher pitched than normal, as she noticed that by taking a step backwards, she'd ended up against the wall. Though they now had an appropriate distance between them, it would be hard to get by him moving in a way that looked and felt natural. She wondered if she should start to casually slide to one side, not sure if he'd notice. "And how are you?"

"I suppose you would say I am well," he answered. "I am as I always am. I've had many, many years of life behind me, and innumerably many ahead of me. Things do not usually change for me very quickly, as they do for you."

Well, that answer was certainly much more than she'd expected from her simple query, and it was also some very interesting food for thought. However, at that particular moment, she _was _on a date-- for an anniversary at that-- and she couldn't really stand by the restrooms chatting, much as she might want to.

"I'm, er, kind of busy right now," she told him. "But-- you are coming back, aren't you? I thought you weren't, and-- and I need to get back to Nathan now, but I want to make sure I'll get to see you again. Because, I thought maybe I wouldn't. And I want to."

Sarah was painfully aware that she was babbling, but by some miracle, Jareth didn't even seem to notice.

"Nathan, hmm?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow and looking over towards the table where the boy in question was waiting. "I see. This meal has some sort of significance, I take it?"

"Yes, it's our anniversary," Sarah said, trying to keep her sentences concise after the disaster which had been her last attempt at speaking to him. "I should get back to him." She started to slide to the side, as subtly as she could, so that she could make an easy exit.

"Anniversary? The two of you are... betrothed?" he said the last word with some disgust. And, she wasn't quite sure how he'd done it and whether it was intentional on his part or not, but he seemed to shift his stance so that, despite her shuffle to the left, he was still blocking her way.

"What?! Um, no, we're not betrothed," she assured him, with the strange urge to laugh wildly. "We're much too young for that. We're just dating." She tried sliding to the right, instead.

"Dating," Jareth repeated, rather flatly, and Sarah couldn't tell whether he was expressing distaste or just unsure of the concept. Also, seemingly without moving, he was now blocking her right-side escape attempt as well.

"I can explain it all later, but--"

They were interrupted by Nathan, who, being neither blind nor stupid (and in a booth within sight of the bathrooms), had noticed his girlfriend talking to another man instead of returning to the table.

"Hey," he said, politely. "Everything okay, Sarah?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," she said quickly, hoping to take control of (and subsequently end) this conversation early. She didn't think she could handleJareth and Nathan talking to each other. Besides the weirdness of the clash of worlds, she also didn't trust what Jareth might say to her boyfriend.

"This guy wasn't bothering you, was he?" Nathan asked, and despite his attempts to look tough, he didn't look like he'd be that much help if that were the case.

"No, no, Jareth is just a friend of mine I haven't seen in a little while, we bumped into each other and were just catching up quickly," she explained, a bit desperately.

"A friend?" Nathan looked Jareth up and down; the Goblin King was clearly a grown man, and it was clear he was wondering why such a man would be friends with a highschooler.

"Yep, that's right, well, it was nice to run into you Jareth, we'll have to catch up later, let me know when you want to hang out!" Sarah said all of this very fast, all in one breath; she was relieved thatJareth hadn't said anything yet and was hoping for a quick getaway so that it stayed that way. She dodged past the Goblin King and took Nathan by the hand, about to sprint back to their table.

"Oh, but wait another moment, please." Sarah's heart sank (and also leapt into her throat, and skipped a beat, all at the same time) when she heard the smooth voice coupled with a hand on her arm. "There were just one or two other things I wanted to run by you. If it's alright with you, Nathan, I'll return her to you in just a moment."

Nathan looked unsure; he turned to Sarah for guidance. She just shrugged.

"I really will be right there," she promised him.

"Well, okay," he said, cheek twitching a fraction, and he went back to the table.

"How charming," Jareth drawled.

"What is it you wanted to say?" Sarah asked, both curious and antsy.

"Do you and... that boy... have plans for after this meal?" he asked.

"Umm, we didn't discuss it, but probably. Dates don't usually end this early, especially for special occasions. He probably wants to go for a walk or something."

"You will decline," Jareth told her.

"Excuse me?"

"You will tell him you're tired, or that you're unwell, and you feel you need to go home early tonight."

"Oh, I will, will I?" She snapped, irritated (but also, against her will, a little turned on) that this was phrased not as a request but as an order.

"You said you wanted to see me again," the Goblin King pointed out. "Ask him to take you home. I will be waiting for you."

With that, Jareth stepped away from her, and while she didn't actually see him disappear, it was like her eyes slid away from him for a moment, and the next, she couldn't see where he'd gone.

She gave a little huff before going back to continue her date.

--

All through dessert, Sarah was distracted, as she tried to decide whether or not to do as Jareth said. On the one hand, it would be a kind of shitty thing to do to Nathan on their anniversary. Plus, she was still annoyed that he'd been so bossy about it (_Well, what did you expect Sarah, he's a _King, she reminded herself).

Still, she could see Nathan any time she wanted. She saw him at school every single day, plus after school and on weekends a whole lot of the time, too. This could be the only chance she got for a long time to seeJareth . And if she didn't come see him tonight, who knew if he'd even be back at all? He might decide that she wasn't interested enough in spending time with him, and decide not to come back at all.

She knew it wasn't exactly fair that he control the terms of their friendship, but he _was_ a king, and if she wanted to be friends with him, she supposed she'd have to accept some control issues from him.

Part of her was tempted to stay out with Nathan, just to see what Jareth would do. Nevertheless, as they were getting into his car (well, his parents' car) and he asked if she'd like to head to the park for a moonlit walk, she found herself responding: "I don't know, Nathan. I'm actually not feeling that great."

He was all concern. When did it start? Did she think it was something she ate? He noticed that she was off during dessert and didn't eat much.

"I just have a headache," she assured him. "I'd just like to get some sleep, is all."

He drove her straight home. "I really hope you feel better, Sarah," he told her in front of the house.

She forced a smile, feeling a bit bad about lying to him. "Thanks, I'm sure I will," she said.

He leaned in to kiss her goodnight. "You might not want to do that, just in case I am coming down with something." She heard the words escape her mouth before she realized she was saying them, and afterwards, she had no idea why she said it.

He smiled a little. "I'll take my chances," he said, and pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back, and she smiled at him as she exited the car.

"Goodnight!" she told him. With one last concerned look at her, he started the car and headed down the block, then disappeared around the corner.

Sarah looked around for Jareth, but he was nowhere in sight. He wasn't actually waiting for her _inside _the house, was he? What would her parents say? She bit her lip as she fumbled with the keys, but the living room held nobody but her father and Karen, watching television.

"Oh, hi Sarah, how was your date?" Karen asked. "You're home earlier than we expected."

"Yeah, headache," Sarah told her. "I'm just going to head upstairs to bed now. The date was fine."

"Let us know if you need anything," her father said, tearing his eyes from the TV screen for a moment.

"Okay," she replied. Why wasn't he here? Had it been some sort of practical joke? It seemed rather infantile for the Goblin King, but it wasn't like she could really expect to understand how he thought. She trudged up the stairs, not having to fake her glum expression (not that her father and Karen were still looking at her, anyway).

When she opened her bedroom door, she managed to prevent a shout of surprise from escaping her lips, probably because she'd been secretly hoping that he'd be in there. The sight ofJareth the Goblin King reclining on her bed, arms crossed behind his head, was as surreal as it was jarring. Sarah had always thought that the magical or otherworldly might look at home in her room, decorated as it was with myth and fantasy. But in her little twin-sized bed, with the pretend princess canopy only extending over the head, so short that his boots hung off the bottom, he looked extremely out of place-- if also extremely at ease.

The ridiculous thought that really, it was the bed that looked out of place, not the king on top of it, flitted across her mind.

"Well, well," he said, smirking at her as she shook herself from her trance and, flustered, closed the door behind her. "That took you a while."

"What, no 'Thanks for ditching your boyfriend on your anniversary for me?' Just a complaint that I took too long?" Sarah asked, walking up to the bed and crossing her arms. Her lips were twitching as she tried to hide her smile.

"I'm not accustomed to be kept waiting, Sarah," he reminded her, sitting up and uncrossing his limbs in one fluid motion.

"I am, unfortunately, much too accustomed to being bossed around. The sad plight of the teenage mortal."

"Ah, good," he said, as he stood up, "we're in agreement then; I have more right to be annoyed at your tardiness than you have for my request." He held out his hand to her.

Sarah laughed. "I _so _did not say that," she informed him. She took his proferred hand, though with a bit of confusion, as she was unsure why. "Uh..." she looked down at the hands.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked her smoothly.

"Go?" Sarah pursed her lips. "Er, you know, my parents are downstairs. They'll have a few questions if I head downstairs and want to leave the house with a strange man."

"Sarah, Sarah, you silly girl." Jareth tutted, produced a crystal in his free hand, and tossed it into the air. Sarah watched it rise, and as the crystal peaked in the air, about to come down again, she felt a strange, whirling sensation. Dizzily, she tried to regain her balance, and she grabbedJareth's arm to steady herself.

As it subsided, she looked around, and saw that they were standing on a rock, at the bottom of a cliff face, with water crashing into the rocks all around them. She felt the gentle spray of salt water against her face. It was much warmer here than it had been back home, but the nighttime and the breeze were still chilly, and she'd already shed her coat. Just as she started to shiver,Jareth wrapped his arms around her, as he did last time. Then he spun her around, so that she was looking off into the sea, though still warmed by his body. The sky was filled with stars, many more than she could see from her suburban home, but there was no moon.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Italy." She could feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke. "That is the Mediterranean sea."

"Wow," she whispered.

"This is a favorite spot of mine," he said, conversationally. "But if you like, or if you mind sitting on the rock, we can go anywhere you like."

"No. This is perfect," Sarah told him, still staring out across the sea. Then she twisted, just her head and torso, to look at him as best she could. "I'd have more expected _you_ not to like sitting on rock."

He laughed a little. His chest rumbled again. "Hardly."

Arms still wrapped around her, he lowered them to the ground, so that she was sitting on his lap, their legs extended in front of them. Both were silent for a while. She could feel his heart beat, his warm breath on her neck. Sitting on his lap gave her a bit of a height advantage, so when she leaned back against him, they were just about cheek to cheek, though her chin rested against the side of his neck. Then she gulped, and sat straighter, so that she wasn't cuddling him quite so blatantly.

_I have a boyfriend, I have a boyfriend, _she chanted to herself, but trying not to get turned on while sitting in this position with Jareth was doomed from the start. Not to mention, if she felt what she _thought _she felt pressing against her bottom, he was feeling the same way, which caused a jolt to go through her that almost made her moan. She tried to think of something to say, to distract herself from how much she wanted him to kiss her right now.

"Where's the moon?" she asked him. "I thought it was a half moon tonight."

"It is," he murmured. She tried not to notice his breath against her ear as he spoke, or to think about how close his mouth was to her. "But it's six hours later in Italy than in your home. The moon has already set."

"I don't think I've ever seen so many stars," Sarah said, as she gazed up at the sky. Look, I can see the Milky Way." She pointed at the bright streak across the sky.

"Mmm. Humans and their cities, and so many lights. They can be entertaining to visit, but I don't know how you stand it, all packed together all the time."

"My town's not exactly like that," she pointed out. "And your goblins seemed pretty packed together, if I remember correctly."

"Precisely my point. I am not a goblin. Do _you _think living as they do sounds like a good idea?"

Sarah laughed. "Fair enough. Do you have stars, Underground?"

"No," he said, shortly. "It is, after all, called the Underground."

"It's actually underneath the ground?" Sarah asked, in surprise. It hadn't looked that way when she was there.

"Oh, in one sense yes, and then in another, no," Jareth said vaguely. "It's... complex."

"How enlightening," Sarah said, dryly. Then she didn't know what else to say, and he wrapped his arms around her more tightly for a moment. Then he loosened them, and took her shoulders, pressing gently, urging her to turn around.

Hardly able to breathe, Sarah let him spin her around, and as he lifted his knees she slid her left leg between them, letting it rest on hard rock on his other side, as she bent her other leg. Before she even realized it, she wasstrattling him; her knees had rock beneath them and his hips between them. Then he bent his legs further, so that she slid down them. She barely noticed the hard rock against the front of her calves. There was something else hard pressing against her, in a very sensitive place, that made thinking about much else impossible.

"Sarah," he whispered, and then he was kissing her. Gently at first, skillfully, as Sarah struggled to remember why she wasn't supposed to do this and, finally, realized she didn't care, and kissed him back.

The kiss grew more intense, demanding, brutal, and she responded with equal fervor. His arms were wrapped around her, fingers digging into her back so much it hurt, oh, hurt so gloriously. She squeezed her legs together, her own hands tangled in his hair, and the fingers dug even more. She moaned into his mouth.

Finally he pulled back, hands gripping her shoulders, as he studied her swollen lips, her short, quick breaths, her eyes glazed in desire.

"Is that," he asked, voice low and rumbling, "how that _boy_ kisses you?"

That reminder _should _have been a dash of cold water, she thought, faintly. Reminders of Nathan should have made her stop short, realizing what a terrible thing she was doing. But straddlingJareth , his hands grasping her shoulders with such authority, her lips (and her back) still tingling... the mention of her boyfriend barely dampened her desire at all.

"Well?" He snarled, tightening his hands on her shoulders. "Is it?"

She shook her head, wordlessly, still staring at him.

"Good," he said, and captured her lips again. When he ended that kiss, and took one of his hands from her. Her eyes followed the hand; with a flick of the wrist, a crystal appeared in it.

"Time for a change of scenery, I think," he told her, and before she could answer, he threw the crystal into the air.

The dizziness wasn't as bad this time, probably as she was already sitting down (well, kind of). The hard rock scraping her legs was replaced with something soft, springy. Still in the same position as they'd been in on the rock, the two of them were now on a very large bed.

"Ah, much better," he said. He grabbed Sarah's sides, picked her up off of him and placed her firmly on her back beside him. Then he slowly crawled on top of her, running kisses slowly up her side, then across her torso, between her breasts, until he was on top of her, his face inches from hers.

"I'm going to show you," he growled, "that no _boy_ can make you feel the way I can."

Her head swam, but thankfully, nervousness managed to do what guilt hadn't, and she managed to croak out, "Wait!"

He paused, looking stunned for a moment, before quirking an eyebrow and saying, in an offhand tone, "Yes? What is it?"

She shook her head and placed her hands on his chest, shoved him off of her. Though he probably could have remained where he was regardless, he let himself be pushed away. Sarah scrambled to the side of the bed.

"I... I can't do this," she told him quickly, before she could lose her resolve. "I'm not ready."

"Oh really?" he asked, only the smallest bit of frustration allowed to show in his voice. "You seemed ready enough a moment ago."

"Not for this. I'm... I'm too young," she said lamely, ignoring the fact that plenty of girls in her grade her having sex, and she hadn't particularly seen anything wrong with it.

"You certainly don't look too young to me," he drawled, looking her up and down. He reached out to run his fingers down her arm.

And oh, how she wanted to just give in, turn back to him and experience all the sensations he could give her that night. She wanted him—wanted to sleep with him, to fuck him, to make love to him, to try out every carnal pleasure known to man with him. He was right—no mortal man could compete.

But she didn't want to give her virginity to him. She knew that he would be gone when the night was over, and she wasn't sure she could deal with that. Just imagining that feeling of loss, having had that night with him only for him to be gone in the morning, for months, maybe longer... even the thought of it gave her stabbing pain. If she did this, she'd be desolated. She'd always be waiting for him to return, obsessing over when that might happen, instead of focusing on her life.

No, he couldn't be her first. She would not give him the satisfaction. Besides, that would be giving him way too much power over her. For him to be the one to take her innocence, and _know_ it... not to mention he would spoil her for everyone else. He _already_ had spoiled her for everyone else, but if she gave herself to him now, then she would never be with anybody but him, and she never knew when—or if—he would pop back into her life for an interlude.

The import of her moments with Jareth could not be anything other than what they were at face value: a few hours spent enjoying his company.

"I had a great time with you, tonight," she told him, firmly. "But I think it's time you sent me home."

If only she could have told him, that she was scared, that he had such power to hurt her.

If only he could have told her, that the last thing he wanted was to hurt her, and he could still be there with her in the morning, and the next few mornings besides, to put her at her ease and reassure her of his next return.

They both had such stubborn pride.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Fleeting Caress  
Author: Anisky  
Summary: He comes to her sometimes. They guard their hearts too well, yet not at all. J/S  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it! In fact, I don't own **any** of it. Since the last chapter, I've joined the United States Peace Corps, and we all sign away our intellectual property rights for anything we create in this two-year period. So technically, even the plot or anything I've made up is considered public domain. I'd appreciate if you'd inform me if you use anything, but that's courtesy, not legality.

A/N: I know, I know, this has taken forever! I'm going to do my best to write more of this and post more regularly, I promise! (Reviews help motivate me, hint, hint!) Also, I posted part of this chapter as a one-shot called "Sensation" nearly a year ago under a different pen name, mostly because I was trying out a new style and wanted to see what people thought of it; I didn't think I'd actually write more of this story. But now that I'm actually working on it again... part of this may be familiar to you. Just a heads up that I'm not plagiarizing, the other pen name was me as well!

Also, I set this in about modern day, even though really it should take place in about the year 1990. Artistic license! The movie never actually states what year it's supposed to take place, does it?

And again, this is unbetaed- if you are interested in betaing for me, PLEASE let me know! There were several aspects of this chapter that I really, really wanted to run past somebody before I posted it. The logistics from rural Africa may be a bit thorny, but I'm sure we can figure it out. :)  
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Chapter 3

The third time the Goblin King visited Sarah, she was in London, on a post-graduation trip through Europe with some of her high school friends. Normally her father and Karen would never have gone for that idea, but Sarah was spending that summer with her mother. Linda had no qualms about her 18-year-old daughter traveling another continent with some friends, in fact she thought it was a wonderful idea. Sarah was pretty sure her dad and stepmother didn't even know she was on this trip, which suited her just fine.

Being 18-year-old Americans on their first trip without their parents, and in countries where they were actually allowed to drink, Sarah and her friends spent a lot of time in nightclubs, and that night was no exception.

Sarah was weaving through the densely packed bodies as they danced to the throbbing music that pulsated so forcefully it replaced her heartbeat. The chill of the highly alcoholic drink in her hand did nothing to decrease the simmering heat of so many bodies pressing against each other.

Girlfriends of Sarah's would always marvel at her confidence, at the nonchalant way she effortlessly seduced then discarded man after man. They didn't understand, because Sarah never told them, that it was easy to be confident around somebody in whom you have no interest, someone whom you don't care what they think of you.

Though Sarah had dated Nathan for another two months after the Jareth Incident (as she had mentally dubbed it), nothing felt the same. After she broke up with him, she didn't even try. She dated, but she was probably the least attentive girlfriend ever. Yet the boys had tried to hang onto her so long, and she'd never really understood why, except maybe that the chase never ended because they could always sense that, even if they were a "couple", they still had not captured her attention.

None of them were _him_, and so none of them mattered, none of them could be more than a plaything, a pitiful substitute for what she really wanted. Despite her best efforts, he _had _ruined her, ruined her even though they had only really met three times. She hated him sometimes, hated him for making her want him so much that she never got the chance to taste the sweet innocence of young love. She barely knew him, and she loved him, but it was a sharp, savage, furious, helpless thing. There was nothing innocent there, nothing sweet. Except perhaps sweet like the beverage she drank now, sugar and citrus dancing playfully on her tongue as they masked the vodka... so she could pretend, at least a little, that she was drinking for the flavor.. A deception; a delicious distraction from the true meaning.

But she loved him.

Yet she would never call out for him, not once, no matter how many times she thought of him at night or imagined his face on the long string of men who she always, always found wanting. If he came to her when she called, she would be admitting defeat; she would show that she needed him, more than he needed her. And if he _didn't_ come…

The thought was too humiliating to contemplate.

As she drained her glass and deposited it on some surface at the edge of the writhing mass, Sarah began to dance. Men came up to her, and she would smile flirtatiously, swing her hips, twirl her hair, lean in close to him and let her body brush against his… then, with one last teasing, naughty smile, sink back into the crowd and disappear.

And so she slid her hands up some faceless man's chest, and pressed her hips against him in this crowded club, and teased him with the futile hope that he might possess her tonight. She might sleep with him- sometimes she fucked them, just because, just for the hell of it- but he would never possess her.

Then she felt a hand slide around her waist, and she sensed rather than saw the majestic arrogance that was the Goblin King.

"Come now, Sarah," he whispered, and somehow despite the deafening blast of the music, she heard him, crystal clear. He guided her away, his hand at the small of her back, and she followed yieldingly.

"Hey, mate, I was dancing with her!" her previous partner exclaimed, grabbing for Sarah's wrist.

She glanced over at him with a look of such scorn that he shrank back. Jareth, for his part, didn't even bother with acknowledgment of any sort. He led her to a dark corner of the dance floor and trapped her between himself and the wall.

"I'm surprised you didn't break his arm." Sarah had to strain her neck to look up at him, he was so close. She could feel his body heat all up and down her form.

Jareth shrugged dismissively. "What, that boy? He was nobody. Wasn't worth the trouble."

She felt an ever so slight flash of annoyance that Jareth knew so well that whoever Sarah was with was nobody, and then wondered what he would do if ever, when he showed up, there was a somebody.

Then such thoughts flew form her mind and Sarah drew in her breath as he drew still closer to her, until every inch of her body was pressed against his. The rough brick of the wall dug into her back, and it was painful and delectable, as Jareth grinned ferally before dipping his head suddenly and capturing her lips with his.

If his kiss had been rough last time, it was nothing compared to how he kissed her now. There was nothing gentle in the way his mouth pressed against hers, his teeth biting her lip, his tongue pressed into her mouth, feeling like assault even though there was not an unwilling bone in her body.

He set her body on fire, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed ever closer, lifting her legs to wrap them around his waist, knowing that finally she would get what she had been waiting for, finally she would feel him inside of her and she would do her best to drive him mad with pleasure.

He broke the kiss and pulled back just far enough to gaze down at her face: her skin that shone with sweat, and her eyes that shined with lust and maybe something else, and her lips swollen, bleeding slightly from his brutal passion. The look on his face scared her a little—she had never seen such intense, such naked hunger, nor so dark a desire.

She stood there, mesmerized, and suddenly she realized that she was falling backwards, the brick wall that had been behind her gone. She landed on a soft surface, Jareth on top of her, still looking down at her with the same expression.

"Old enough now?" he demanded roughly, as he pulled her shirt over her head.

"Oh yes," she breathed, trying to undo the buttons of his shirt before deciding just to rip it off instead.

"Good." He pushed her down against the bed; leaned down to kiss her neck, and then bit it harshly. She stifled a scream.

"Don't hold it in," he whispered in her ear. "I want to hear your screams. I want to hear you scream in pleasure, and in pain, and in fear and desire and ecstasy and terror." He punctuated his words with tiny butterfly kisses down the side of her neck to her collarbone, light caresses to emphasize his dark words. He lifted his head to look up at her.

"And I get what I want," he told her.

He heard many screams from her that night, but she could take pride in the fact that she'd drawn quite a few screams from him as well.

Sarah woke up slowly the next morning, bruised and aching and sore all over and feeling wonderful.

She rubbed her cheek against the warm, soft pillow and started in surprised when she heard a low chuckle and felt it reverberating beside her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked up, seeing in surprise that the Goblin King was still in bed next to her, and her head had been resting on his chest.

"Good morning, love," he said.

"Good morning." She was still sleepy, and was having trouble thinking coherently. "I didn't expect you to still be here."

"What, so little faith in your abilities?"

"You never stay long," she reminded him, a little sadly.

"Oh, Sarah." She couldn't identify the tone of his voice. She looked up at him to try and see his expression, but that too was inscrutable.

"I'm glad you stayed," she admitted to him.

He smiled down at her, and pulled her up his body so that he could kiss her languidly. She couldn't help responding dramatically to his touch, and they commenced to make love far more tenderly than they had the previous night.

It was quite a while later, as Sarah lay in the bed languidly, cheek resting on Jareth's shoulder, that she finally asked where exactly they were.

"Still in London," he assured her. "You can go and rejoin your friends whenever you like."

"So we're just in a normal hotel room in London?" Sarah giggled, a little embarrassed. "We must have kept all the other guests up last night."

Jareth chuckled, absentmindedly stroking her hair. "Silly girl. Magic, remember? They didn't hear a thing."

"Oh. Good," Sarah said, though to her surprise there was an ever so slight twinge of disappointment. She hoped Jareth didn't hear it in her voice. She'd never thought of herself as a exhibitionist!

"So," Jareth drawled, as he ran a finger idly up her side, "if I'm not mistaken, the tradition in your world is to go out to breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Sarah repeated uncertainly. "You want to take me out to breakfast?"

"Is my information wrong?" he inquired.

"No! No, I mean, yes, that's... normal."

"Hmm. So why the confusion, dearest?"

"Well, it's... _normal,_" she repeated.

Jareth looked at her for a moment, with just a hint of a soft-eyed smirk. Then he grabbed her arms, swung her across and over his body, and Sarah found herself planted on her feet- still completely naked- before she even knew what was happening.

He sprang languidly to his feet beside her, graceful like a cat. He leaned over to kiss her, quickly but fiercely. Sarah returned the kiss wildly for the few seconds before he broke it off.

"Jareth?" she said, breathlessly.

"Yes?" he replied from low in his throat, the word almost a growl.

"I need... some clean clothes."

Jareth stopped, and Sarah smiled at him with mock innocence, wondering how he would respond to this tiniest of bids for control of the situation.

He sighed, dramatically, and took his time as he looked Sarah up and down. Without shame his eyes lingered as they pleased, but Sarah was far beyond embarrassment by now, and even struck a little teasing pose.

"It seems like such a shame, to cover you up..." Jareth mused.

"You promised breakfast," she told him. "You can't back out now."

He looked as though he were giving the problem serious thought. "We could have some food sent to the room."

Sarah cocked her head to the side, considering, then shook her head. "Nope. You're taking me out to breakfast. Out, together, in front of all the people in London. And you're going to give me clothes first."

"My, but we _are _demanding."

Sarah raised her eyebrows challengingly. "And how do you enjoy a taste of your own medicine?"

"You're forgetting something, my Sarah."

"And what is that?" she asked, crossing her arms, entirely enjoying herself.

He took a step towards her. "You have no clothes in this hotel room," he reminded her. "You cannot leave unless I decide to conjure some for you. You are, in short, completely at my mercy."

He took another step towards her, and they were as close as they could be without touching. Sarah strained her neck to look up at him.

"Gods, I shouldn't find that so hot," Sarah breathed, then blushed to realize she'd said it aloud.

Jareth pushed her against the wall, lifting her for a kiss as though she weighed nothing, and then entered her again, as he whispered in her ear with each thrust.

"You're trapped here... until I decide otherwise... entirely at my whim..."

Sarah moaned at his declarations, each one shooting desire and pleasure through her entire body nearly as much as his movement inside of her did.

He'd managed to completely subvert her bid for power in a matter of moments...and Sarah really, really didn't mind.

.

It was nearly two hours later when Jareth and Sarah finally emerged from their hotel room, even though they'd saved time by showering together. (_Actually, _Sarah thought, _no, that hadn't really saved any time at all_.) She was _starving._

"I don't think it's breakfast time any more," Sarah noted as they stepped onto the street. "What time is it, anyway?"

While Jareth had vanished her clothes last night (though the skirt and blouse he'd conjured her just before they left were _gorgeous_), he thankfully had left her purse unharmed. She reached to pull out her cell phone so she could check the time.

"Two o'clock!" she exclaimed, and then said: "Oh, shit, I have a bunch of missed calls and texts. My friends must be worried about me. Gimme a sec, okay?"

"Wait until we're not walking on a crowded street," Jareth told her. "I know a charming café very near here, you can reassure them of your safety in just a few minutes."

Sarah nodded, and Jareth placed his hand at the small of her back as they walked. His touch was so light she could barely feel it, and they were walking exactly next to each other, yet in an almost primal way, Sarah felt led by him.

So many things about this morning were so... different. Not just that she'd spent the night (and the morning) with the King of the Goblins and how he was taking her to a café in London, though of course that was about as different from normal life as it was possible to get.

Nothing about the way Sarah found herself relating to Jareth was familiar to her. Usually she lost interest after a couple of fucks, both in the lover and in sex itself. If anyone else had wanted to keep going half the times, a _third _of the times she and Jareth had gone at in in the past fourteen hours, she'd have gotten annoyed and shut them down so fast their heads would spin. Not to mention that once she'd woken up, she'd have been out the door, alone, in about the time it takes to take a shower and get dressed.

But it was more than that. If any other man had said those things to her that he'd said... acted so controlling, taking the power away from her... and now, even in subtle ways, retaining authority over the situation...

Well, he'd have learned his lesson very, very quickly. Probably in a physically painful manner.

If it were any other man.

She wasn't surprised that she felt differently about Jareth, she'd always known that. That didn't stop her from being a bit frightened that everything she knew about herself, how she felt and how she acted, was now wrong.

"We're here," Jareth told her, hand leaving her back as he opened the door and gestured for her to enter. Sarah smiled, stepped into the café.

"You've certainly been quiet during the walk," Jareth told her as they sat in a booth. He slid onto the bench across from her. Usually Sarah preferred this- she found it annoying when men wanted to sit on the same side of a table when it was clearly designed for one person on each side- but she found herself strangely wishing he were next to her.

"I've been thinking," Sarah told him.

"Well, we'd better put a stop to that. You ought to be paying attention to _me_," he informed her.

Sarah laughed out loud. "Would it help if I told you I was thinking about you?"

"You'd better have been," he said warningly.

She just gave him a little smile, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "I'd say I can't believe you, but that would be a lie."

He just smirked and leaned back in his seat as Sarah took out her phone and called her best friend to reassure everyone that she was fine.

"What happened?" Laurie demanded as soon as she picked up. "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay."

"I'm fine," Sarah assured her quickly.

"Thank god," Laurie said in relief. "You just disappeared! Early, too! And you didn't answer any calls or texts or anything! What have you been up to, you slut?"

"Oh, you would not_ believe_," Sarah told her friend.

Laurie whistled. "Sounds juicy. Want to hook up now and give me the deets?"

"Actually, I'm out with him right now," Sarah said, as casually as she could. "I'm not sure what the plans are for the day, so I'll have to get back to you."

There was silence from the other end.

"Laurie? Are you there?"

"You're... still with the guy?" Laurie asked in disbelief. "And making no attempt to get rid of him?"

"Yes," Sarah said, a bit curtly.

Laurie whistled again. "Who the hell _is _this guy?"

_If only she knew. _

"I already kinda knew him, actually. He's an old friend."

"A friend? Who?"

"You don't know him."

"You have some old friend whom I somehow know nothing about who just happens to be in London at the same time we are?"

"Basically, yes," Sarah said, getting annoyed. She knew it wasn't Laurie's fault she didn't understand, and if Sarah were in her friend's place she'd find the whole thing suspicious too. But it was still kind of irritating.

"Well, just be careful, hun. Sleeping with friends can be dangerous. Especially for girls like you."

"Girls like me? And what is _that _supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it's supposed to mean, and don't even _pretend _to be insulted."

Sarah glanced up at Jareth, who was still reclining in his seat, but was definitely looking impatient. "Look, I gotta go now, we're about to have breakfast... lunch... whatever. Just tell everyone I'm fine, okay? I'm sure I'll see you soon."

"Fine." Laurie sighed. "But _do _be careful."

"Stop worrying! I know what I'm doing. Goodbye!"

She hung up the phone and put it in her purse.

"Sorry about that," she told Jareth. "I had to talk to her a bit. The more I blow her off now, the more she'll demand later. She's my best friend, she worries and she's curious. You know how it is."

"I don't really, no," Jareth said.

Sarah's wince was, unfortunately, ever so slightly visible. She'd said the last bit as a reflex, just one of those things you say to end a statement, without thinking about to whom she was speaking.

"Oh. Well. Anyway, I'm all yours now. What's good to eat here?"

They spoke casually over their (rather delicious) meal, and it was extremely enjoyable- she still couldn't believe that it was so easy, so natural to talk to the _King of the Goblins-_ but she was distracted the whole time, by her phone conversation with Laurie. What _were _the plans for the day? He'd suggested breakfast- which turned out to be lunch- so what came next? Was he going to disappear after this?

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"My fondness for the British Isles aside, the beginning of Greece was one of my favorite times of history," Jareth was saying.

"Oh, really? I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology."

"Now, why don't I find that surprising?"

"I guess you were actually there and saw what really happened! Were the Greek gods real? No, wait, don't tell me. The mystery's part of the fun. So why is it your favorite period?"

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_'Just be careful_,' Laurie had said.

She'd been right, for the wrong reasons. She'd meant that Sarah was not very sensitive towards the men she slept with, and that she might ruin the friendship by being too harsh, or leading the friend on, or suddenly losing all interest in her friend because sex did that to Sarah sometimes.

None of that had anything to do with Jareth. Yet, she _had _done her best to be careful.

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"And then when the Thracians discovered beer, and then wine, they believed the intoxication was divine, a religious experience. And for it they honored- time to show off your knowledge, Sarah darling-"

"-Bacchus, right? Also called Dionysus."

"Very good. Now, this part you'll enjoy. When worship of Bacchus spread to Greece, as part of the religious ceremonies, women- respectable women, mind you, married and maiden alike- would go out to the countryside and dance and drink alcohol all night. The practice infuriated their husbands and fathers, but as it was a religious ceremony, they didn't dare try to stop it."*

Sarah laughed. "That's awesome."

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Two years ago, she'd refused to sleep with him because even just _imagining _how she'd feel once he left again had been one of the most heart-rending things she'd ever endured.

She'd turned him down, because she needed to take some time, get some more experience. And she had done exactly that. Casual sex was easy for her now; she could fuck a guy then get out of bed and leave, without the slightest twinge of pain, without the slightest desire to see him again. She'd thought she was ready to deal with Jareth, and all he entailed.

_'I know what I'm doing,'_ she'd said to Laurie.

.

"Well, I'm still interested in acting, but I've been thinking more about film and television lately. My acting coach tells me that my real strength is in my facial expressions, and that's much more useful on the screen rather than on stage. And apparently I don't have enough 'presence' in person, but I'm good at faking it for the camera."

The last bit she said only a little bitterly.

"I'm sorry to hear you've been discouraged from your original dream," Jareth told her, sounding sincere. "The opinion of one acting coach shouldn't be everything to you, though. Not to mention, you can always work on your weaknesses, try to improve."

"I know. But film and television is pretty exciting, too. I'm going to New York University in the fall, it has a great film program, so I think I'm going to study all the aspects, not just acting but writing and directing too."

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She'd assumed that all her practice seeing sex as just something fun, with nothing to do with emotion, would protect her from the pain she'd foreseen two years ago. That it would guard her against the panic she was starting to feel, desperation because their lunch was coming to an end, this terror that...

She'd thought she was ready.

Oh, Gods.

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She _had _to know.

"So," she said (in a complete non sequitur, since he'd been in the middle of discussing the origins of theatre before the written word), "we've finished our meal and have already had three cups of after-lunch tea. Are you-"

_Be cool, Sarah, be casual, don't stutter, just say it naturally-_

"-that is, do you have anywhere you need to be? I mean, I should let Laurie know if she gets to pump me for gossip soon, or if she'll just have to wait."

"Oh," Jareth said, voice low and ever so slightly smug, "I do believe she'll have to wait."

Sarah had been so worked up that for the first couple of moments, she didn't even feel relief or happiness. The sheer rush of emotions and adrenaline at having her answer overwhelmed her, and Sarah was glad she was already sitting down as her vision swam.

After a few moments her body settled down, and she hoped that she hadn't just made a total fool of herself. She tried to keep herself from smiling too broadly and goofily, but probably failed.

"Well, she'll sure be disappointed," Sarah said.

Sarah looked up. Jareth's eyes met hers.

Their gazes remained locked for several, long moments.

They watched each other: Jareth, the King of the Goblins, and Sarah, the young mortal who had defeated his Labyrinth. They wondered.

There is much that two people can tell each other with their eyes. There is, also, much that two people can hide in the same way.

But Sarah and Jareth were trying to do both of these at the same time.

They looked away. Jareth threw some money on the table. Sarah stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder.

Sarah watched him as he stood up and brushed off his trousers and shirt.

So now they were going somewhere else. She didn't know where, but that was okay. They were going _together_.

At least, for a little while.

_._

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*I got this information/anecdote (paraphrased of course) from Bertrand Russell's "The History of Western Philosophy", Part 1, Chapter 1

A/N: Ack! This chapter was supposed to cover a lot longer than a day! It was supposed to end when he left again... But that would have been just too long and I wanted to get this chapter out, as it's been so long! Hopefully we can see the rest of their time in Europe soon.

I turned a couple of verbs into adverbs in a way that I do not believe is strictly grammatical, because it seemed most fitting in the context. It felt right to me, but I want your opinion: did anyone notice, and if so, did you find it at all jarring?

I'm going to repeat my plea for a beta!


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Fleeting Caress  
Author: Anisky  
Summary: He comes to her sometimes. They guard their hearts too well, yet not at all. J/S  
Rating: M (for real this time people)  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it! I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer, have no intellectual property rights for this two-year period. Anything I've made up is public domain, but I'd appreciate the courtesy of telling me if you use any of my (few) creations or archive this somewhere.

WARNING: Mild-to-Medium BDSM. If that bothers you, just a warning, it's only going to get worse as the story goes on, at least up until chapter 6 or 7 or so.

A/N: So, I meant for this story to be one chapter for every encounter. You know, Chapter 1 starting with "The first time he came to her was three months after...", Chapter 2 starting with "The second time he showed up...", Chapter 3 with "The third time the Goblin King visited Sarah...", and so on. As clearly this is all still the third time, I was planning on this being "Chapter 3, Part 2"... except then this got too long, too. I don't think I want to go to "Chapter 3, Part 3" after this, so this is now officially Chapter 4, and next chapter (still probably their third time) will be Chapter 5, etc. I suppose it's just as well, because what was supposed to be Chapter 4, and will now probably be Chapter 6 [of which I've already written quite a lot!], would have been hard to start that way anyway.

As per last chapter, I set this in about modern day, even though really it should take place in about the year 1990.

And again, this is unbetaed- if you are interested in betaing for me, PLEASE let me know! I hate posting so much unbetaed stuff, but finding a beta for any of my stuff has been tough lately.

A/N 2: Unfortunately, a lot of the research I'd have liked to do for this chapter is impossible with my incredibly slow and expensive (from my non-income perspective, anyway) internet. I pay by the megabyte and it takes forever, so... I did more glossing than I'd have otherwise liked to on the London thing. I've only ever been there four days, so... :(

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Chapter 4

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"Where should we go next?" Sarah asked. "Do you know London very well?"

"Do I know..." he trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief as they left the café. "I've been visiting this city since it was first founded, when the Romans came to Britain in what you call the first century."

"Okay, seriously, how old _are _you?" Sarah asked.

"Now that question is quite a bit more complex than you might imagine." His tone indicated that he was not about to explain.

"Fine. Well, maybe you knew London back in the Dark Ages," she said teasingly, "but I'm just not convinced that means you can give me a proper tour _now_."

His hand settled at her lower back again, and as they walked, he leaned in and whispered into her ear.

"I will show you London like no mortal has seen it," he murmured to her. "But I don't appreciate your attempting to manipulate me."

"I wasn't-" Sarah tried to protest, pulling away. He wrapped his arm around her waist, as they continued to walk, to keep her close. His lips were at her ear again.

"Yes, you were. Oh, it was mild, but it was there. So after you get your tour of London, I'm afraid I will have to punish you."

"What kind of punishment?" Sarah asked quietly, with a mix of trepidation and, she couldn't deny it, excitement.

"You'll just have to wait and see tonight, won't you?"

He kissed her ear softly, then pulled away, so they were a bit more appropriate for walking down a city street.

Despite his promises for the day and his threats for the night, there was only one thing Sarah could think.

_There's going to be a tonight._

–

Sarah didn't know how her discovery of London under Jareth's guidance compared to the walking tour Laurie and her other friends were planning to take, but she couldn't deny that he was extremely knowledgeable. Plus she was having an absolutely marvelous time. No... she was having a _perfect_ time.

"You've gone quiet again," Jareth said, as they strolled through a quaint little park.

"Have I?" Sarah asked. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"I wasn't saying anything."

"So really, _both _of us have gone quiet," Sarah said teasingly.

Jareth inclined his head just a fraction, acknowledging her point, but with seeming reluctance.

"What were you thinking about?" Jareth asked.

Sarah hesitated.

"You don't wish to tell me?" the Goblin King asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not that," she said quickly. "I'm just thinking of the right words."

It was true and it wasn't. She couldn't tell him _exactly _what she was thinking... but there was really only the one detail that felt dangerous. She could misrepresent it easily enough, without even lying.

"I guess I was mostly pondering how odd this is, and how wonderful. I'm here, in London, in the company of the King of the Goblins," Sarah said, phrasing her words carefully. "If we went back in time a few years to my childhood, and we asked me what I wanted most, exploring the British Isles with ancient, magical beings would have been at the top of my list. It's a weird feeling, knowing that I'm living my childhood dream, right now. Especially one I believed impossible. It doesn't happen often, for us humans anyway."

"And does the reality live up to the dream?" Jareth inquired, voice light.

Sarah turned to grin at him. "If you were serious about what we'll be doing tonight, I daresay reality may well surpass the dream entirely."

He stopped walking, and turned to look at Sarah, eyebrows raised.

"Your punishment?" He asked, voice low, and tightly controlled.

Sarah blushed, and looked at the ground.

"You anticipate it so eagerly?" he demanded.

She blushed even harder, and scuffed her shoe against the grass, wishing the ground would open up an swallow her. "I guess I do," she mumbled, before she raised her eyes to look at his.

There were so many emotions contained in his unusual eyes, and Sarah couldn't begin to identify a fraction of them. Yet, though she couldn't say why, she felt comforted by what she saw. She smiled, tentatively.

"Hmmm. I'll need to be careful with you..." Jareth mused. "I threaten you with the stick only to discover that, to you, it's actually the carrot."

Sarah gave Jareth a weird look. "Carrot?" she asked, blankly.

He waved a hand. "A figure of speech. Punishment can't serve its purpose if you think of it as a reward."

Sarah studied him for a moment, and then she grinned and shook her head, slowly, a little smugly.

"You wouldn't be planning a 'punishment' if you really thought I'd dislike it," she told him, with a touch of triumph that she'd understood something he hadn't meant to tell her.

Jareth's gaze darkened, and he took a menacing step towards Sarah. She stood her ground, so they were nose to nose- or rather, as Jareth was over a foot taller than she was, nose to chest. She looked up at him.

"Are you sure about that?" he growled.

Sarah cocked her head, considered. "Yes," she said. Then she added, naughtily: "But you know, I think it'll be more fun for both of us if we forget I ever said so. Let's pretend... I'm scared, dreading what you might to do me... Let's pretend I'm wondering what gives you the right to punish me, and part of me is so angry, or timid, I want to bolt, but I'm so entranced by you that I can't back out, even if I want to..."

Whatever Jareth had been expecting from the girl in front of him, it clearly had not been that. His smug superiority seemed to evaporate as he froze, in surprise and confusion.

Sarah continued to look up at Jareth, who for several moments actually appeared stunned and unsure of what he should do or say. She got the feeling that he didn't want her to see him like this, clearly derailed and unable to think of what to say.

_Well, tough, _she thought, and she kept her gaze steadily on his face. He saw her unsure all the time, and besides, she was pretty sure she liked him even better for having seen this moment.

"Well," he said, struggling to regain his composure. "You've never been punished by me. Perhaps if you knew what's coming, you _would_ be afraid, and the only reason you're not running away is that you don't know what's in store."

"Perhaps," Sarah said, with a grin, and she turned to continue their walk. He kept pace with her, as they walked more briskly than before.

They were again silent for a minute or two before Sarah broke the silence.

"You don't spend much time with humans, do you?" she asked.

"They run my Labyrinth more often than you might imagine," Jareth said, but Sarah shook her head.

"As Jareth, not as the Goblin King," she said. "With Labyrinth challengers, you pop in and out and try to trip people up. But you don't really spend _time_ with humans. Am I right?"

"I suppose so," Jareth said, a bit blandly. "Why do you ask?"

Sarah shrugged. "Because you aren't used to being surprised," she said.

"No, I'm not," he agreed. "You were the first person to solve my Labyrinth in three centuries. It was quite a shock."

Sarah shook her head again. "I don't mean that," she tried to explain. "I mean just while you're talking, or rather, while someone else is talking. Tell me, how often do you have a conversation without already knowing just how it's going to go?"

"Whatever powers I have, I'm not precognitive. I don't know the future."

Sarah frowned. Was he deliberately avoiding her question? If so, should she just let it go?

"But how often does someone say something to you that you didn't expect them to say? Like, really had no idea it was coming?" Sarah persisted, unable to help herself.

Jareth sighed. "Not often," he told her stiffly.

"So, you don't talk to humans much," Sarah concluded.

"That happens with humans _often_?" He actually sounded curious.

"Yeah, of course, all the time," Sarah said. "You never know what someone's gonna say."

"Yes, I do," Jareth told her. "I always know."

"Not with me," Sarah pointed out.

"No," Jareth agreed. "Not with you."

"So... do you ever really have conversations?" Sarah asked, suddenly feeling very sad for him. Not pity, exactly, but acutely aware of how lonely his life must be.

"How would you define a conversation?"

"Well, you kn-" Sarah hastily cut herself off. 'You know' was quickly replacing 'It's not fair!' as the most inappropriate phrase to utter in the Goblin King's presence. "Talking to someone for the sake of talking, I guess. Letting the topic drift from one thing to another, without any purpose but to exchange ideas and entertain each other. I guess that's not the only way to have a conversation, but that's the kind I mean."

"Ah," he said. "Those running my Labyrinth rarely have their thoughts on entertainment and talking for talking's sake."

And there was nobody else he could talk to? Obviously goblins were out of the question, but Sarah had assumed that there must be other beings like Jareth. Why didn't he have friendships and relationships with them? Or, if there were no others like him... if he was something entirely unique... where did he come from?

If he really had nobody, she didn't understand why he didn't forge friendships with some of his more intelligent subjects. Granted, Ludo wasn't the most eloquent of creatures, and Sir Didymus's range of interests was rather limited, but Sarah still sometimes spent hours sitting in front of her mirror, talking to Hoggle.

If Sarah didn't have _anybody _to talk to, she definitely wouldn't disdain the company of one of the only people capable of carrying an interesting conversation, the way Jareth did to Hoggle.

Sarah didn't say any of these things. Instead, she said, "You know what I'd _really_ like to do on this tour?"

"I think we've established that I don't," Jareth answered.

It could have been an awkward moment, but Sarah laughed, and to her relief Jareth began laughing as well. It was a laugh she hadn't really heard from him before- more spontaneous somehow, not quite self-deprecating, but definitely lacking the reserved and careful dignity she'd always heard whenever he'd laughed before. It was like he'd loosened his grip on something he'd been holding tightly for a very long time.

_Now just to make him let it go altogether, _she thought to herself.

Just then she realized she'd never noticed that, from that first night he'd come to her after the Labyrinth, he hadn't worn gloves. She fleetingly wondered what that was about, but the thought was gone nearly as soon as she had it.

"I'd like the two of us to get a drink together," Sarah said. "Grab a few beers or cocktails and chat. What do you think of that?"

"Chat," he repeated, though he no longer sounded so suspicious of the concept.

"It's a lot easier when you've had a couple of drinks," Sarah assured him.

His lips quirked. "I've no doubt. Very well, then. We'll have some drinks and... chat."

She grinned. "Do you know anywhere good to go? Somewhere quiet enough that we can actually talk. Not like that club last night."

"I know several nice establishments," Jareth assured her. "You mentioned beer and cocktails- is your heart set on those options? If not, there is a wine bar I like particularly. Though come to think of it I'm sure they serve cocktails as well."

"Wine sounds great," Sarah assured him. "A little classier than I'd been thinking, but I suppose when I look back on my memory of having a drink with the Goblin King, the words 'slumming it' shouldn't come to mind."

"Come, it's this way. It's around seven blocks away. Is that acceptable?"

"Sure. I'm enjoying the walk."

As they left the park and made their way down the sidewalk, Jareth asked, "Is that how you're thinking of this day? Collecting memories upon which to look back?"

"Hmm. It's definitely not the_ only _way I'm thinking of this day. Believe me when I say I'm completely in the moment. I want to be _here, _present, completely. But yes, I'm also, oh..." Sarah paused, but she'd already said it, so she might as well own it. "Also conscious of the fact that I'll be running all this through my head for the next few years. Do you find that weird?"

"No," Jareth said simply. "I'll be doing the same."

"But then-" Sarah stopped.

"Then what?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she said.

"You were about to say something," he pointed it out.

"Nothing important," Sarah insisted. "A question I realized I don't really want answered."

Jareth looked frustrated, but Sarah just _couldn't_ ask him why, if he thought about his time with her anywhere near as much as she thought of her time with him, he waited _years_ between his visits. It would be like... like asking him to come more often. If he'd wanted to see her on a more regular basis, he would show up more; but he didn't. That wasn't what this was, and if she tried to change things, maybe it would stop being anything at all.

But she didn't want him to look frustrated like that. She wanted Jareth to be free again, natural, like she'd seen a moment ago in his laugh, like she'd seen in brief flashes throughout today. Like she'd seen here and there last night, all too rarely but even more precious for that, when they'd both been so overwhelmed with pleasure and passion.

"It seems we've got a bit of a quandary here, then," Sarah said.

"Do we? Would you care to elaborate?"

"Well, if we're both going to be looking back on tonight a lot," she explained, "then we want to make sure that everything goes well, so that our memories will all be pleasant."

"Instead of the last time, when it ended with your rejecting me," Jareth agreed. There was no accusation in his voice; mostly it was pleasant, with a hint of rue.

"Sorry about that," Sarah said quietly.

"Don't be. You-" He paused, then stopped walking. "We're here. This is the wine bar."

Sarah looked up. It certainly looked fancy... or perhaps decadent was the right word. It was exactly the sort of place Sarah would have pictured the Goblin King lounging around. Through the high, narrow windows, she could see the the place was gorgeous, decked out in dark blues and blacks.

Jareth put his hand by the small of Sarah's back and guided her up the steps, then opened the door for her. Once inside, she could see that elaborate chandeliers, probably real crystal, cast a low light over the well-dressed patrons. The tables and chairs were dark wood, intricately carved, with velvet cushions. As soon as they entered, a woman dressed in a crisp white blouse and knee-length black skirt came to greet them. A name tag identified her as Amelia Harris.

"Mr. King, how good to see you again," she said pleasantly. "And who is this?"

"This is my good friend Sarah Williams," he answered, also pleasantly. "We would like a private booth, if one is available."

The woman looking Sarah up and down appraisingly. Sarah was glad that Jareth had created her clothes that day; she'd have felt under dressed in anything she'd brought with her for this trip.

"Welcome, Ms. Williams. A private booth, Mr. King? That's a new one for you. If you would just give us one moment, please."

The woman walked over to a secluded corner, and to Sarah's astonishment, a moment later a group of four somewhat disgruntled patrons emerged, carrying their wine glasses and two bottles, and followed her to a table nearer the center of the room. Amelia returned to the front of the establishment.

"Your booth is ready," she informed Jareth, and led the two of them to the recently-vacated booth.

"Wow, you really get the special treatment here, don't you?" Sarah said, sliding into the comfortable seat, which was one long arc that curved around a circular table. She ran her hands over the black fabric, which she was sure was real velvet.

Jareth just shrugged, and slid close to her in the seat. Apparently nothing about what had just happened seemed unusual to him.

"So what can I get you?" Amelia asked. Jareth ordered some obscure kind of vintage grape that Sarah had never heard of, and Amelia nodded in approval before she left.

"So where were we?" Jareth asked. "Oh, yes. I was about to do something very out of character and admit that you were right. If you weren't ready, you weren't ready. I'd much prefer you have the self-possession to send me away at the time, rather than let things go somewhere that would make you turn away from me forever."

"Is that what you thought happened?" Sarah asked. She shook her head. "There was never any danger of that."

"No?" He sounded curious and half-disbelieving.

"No," she said. "But I think I'd like to drink some wine before I elaborate."

Just then another server, this one a man, came to their booth. He placed two wine glasses on the table, then held out the bottle to Jareth so he could inspect the label. At Jareth's nod, the man uncorked the bottle and poured only the tiniest bit into each glass. He seemed to be waiting for something, but Jareth waived him away.

"We're only meant to have a small sip right now," Jareth explained. "This wine is meant to decant for half an hour before it's truly ready to drink."

Sarah groaned. She knew she was supposed to do some sort of swirling with her glass of wine, but instead she just drank the small bit straight.

"Tastes fine to me," she said, and Jareth laughed.

"Why don't we break the rules, just this once?" he suggested, as he took the bottle and poured each of them a much fuller glass, sneaking a mischievous look at Sarah. "Every single person here would be scandalized if they saw me doing this, but luckily, we are out of sight."

There was something so naughty in his expression as he offered her the wine glass, now nearly half filled with red wine.

_I love him, _she thought, unbidden. She'd already known that, but it had always been an angry, savage, despairing kind of love. There had always been something dirty around it. As she gazed at his face, at his his conspiratorial smile as they drank their wine the "wrong" way, loving him felt warm. It felt soft and full of laughter, or at least, like it could be, some of the time.

"Alright, Miss Williams, you've now had more than a glass of wine, and it's still a good fifteen minutes before you were supposed to have more than a drop," he told her. "I believe there was something you promised you'd tell me after you had some wine?"

"I don't remember_ promising _anything," Sarah teased. At Jareth's low growl, she smiled. "Kidding! Okay. You'd said- you thought the reason I said I wasn't ready was because if I'd had sex with you that night, I wouldn't want to see you ever again. Right?"

"Close enough," Jareth agreed. He poured her another generous glass. "And you claimed that wasn't why you refused me."

"It wasn't," Sarah said. "It was the opposite."

Jareth finished his own glass and poured himself another. "Oh?" he asked, voice deceptively light.

"It never even crossed my mind I might run from you. I was afraid that if I gave my virginity to you, you, who had just demonstrated so deftly that he surpassed any mortal, I'd spend the rest of my life finding every man wanting."

So many emotions played across his face. She could only guess at some of them: she thought she saw desire... wistfulness... that he was trying not to feel what he was feeling. His fist clenched and he closed his eyes, briefly.

"I wish I'd known that," he said.

"Would it have changed anything?"

Jareth didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Odd how we can replay an event so many times, yet still misunderstand it completely."

"Maybe we can be... I don't know... we can try hard to be straight with each other this time," Sarah said, though as she said it she knew it was impossible. She took another sip of her wine. She was definitely feeling the effects, and she wondered if Jareth was too. Did Goblin Kings get drunk?

"Maybe."

"But that brings me to that quandary," Sarah said. "The one I mentioned just when we left the park, I forgot about it until now. If we're too determined to make this perfect memory, that we can play back without any... sadness, or bitterness, or whatever... then we'll probably just ruin it. If we try too hard to make everything perfect, then we'll just be tense and worried about it the whole time. So. What do we do?"

"Hmm. Good question. Do you have any ideas, besides... being 'straight' with each other?"

"Well, drinking helps." Sarah grinned. "Though it also increases the chance of saying something I regret, I'm just not as worried about that. Do Goblin Kings get drunk, by the way?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I do," he said, "though right now I'm certainly no further than tipsy. Any ideas for your quandary besides alcohol?"

"I think," Sarah said slowly, and she hesitated. "Off the top of my head, only one comes to mind, right now. And I'm not sure if it's possible. And I'm not sure if I should ask."

"Ask," he said commandingly, with some exasperation.

"How..." Sarah took a deep breath and let out her question as quickly as she could. "How long are you going to stay here with me?"

Jareth was silent for a moment, his face unreadable. "How long do you want me to stay?"

"Honestly?" Sarah asked. She pursed her lips and took a gulp of the wine, not caring that it was probably hundreds of dollars per bottle. "As long as possible."

He leaned back in the seat, and put an arm around her shoulders. "Is that so?"

"God, yes. I spent that entire brunch freaking out about whether you were going to disappear right after, or if you were going to stay the day, you know."

"No, I didn't know," he said, sounding amused and pleased. She thought there might be something else in his voice, too, but she was getting past tipsy by this point.

"Oh, God, I shouldn't have told you that, should I?" she cried, hiding her face in his shoulder. "I'm so embarrassed. I'm an idiot."

He chuckled, and she felt it vibrate against her cheek as she kept her hidden. "You're a bit of a lightweight, aren't you?" he said.

"Yeah." Her voice was muffled against his shoulder.

"Well, stop worrying. I'm enjoying this chance to get into your head. I'm fascinated to know what you were thinking throughout the day. So stop being embarrassed."

Sarah lifted her head. "I can't help it," she mumbled.

"That was an order," he told her, in a mock-warning tone.

She just stuck her tongue out at him. "I can't."

"Have some more wine," Jareth suggested with a laugh. Then he added, "I'm interested in all your thoughts. You shouldn't be embarrassed to tell me any of them."

"If only you'd return the favor," Sarah answered.

"I'll do my best," he said, "but you're right. I don't have much practice, I suppose. But in answer to your question... can you slip away from your friends for a few weeks?"

"A few _weeks?_" Sarah repeated, her face lighting up. "You mean it? You can stay a few _weeks_?"

"I might need to make a few brief trips to keep things in order, but yes, I believe I can manage it."

"That would be amazing!" Sarah smiled. "And it solves the quandary. I won't be so worried about doing something wrong, because I know there will be plenty of time... well, plenty compared to the last two times. So any slip-ups, we'll have the time to make them up."

Just then, Sarah's phone started ringing. She looked down at her purse then over at Jareth.

"Go ahead and answer it," he told her, as he leaned back and took a sip of his wine. "As you said, we have time now."

She fished her cell out of her purse, and was unsurprised to see LAURIE listed on the screen as the caller.

"Hi again, Laure," she said.

"Sarah!" Laurie said. "Wow, what a day! You missed a lot, girl."

"No, you know what, I don't think I did," Sarah answered.

"Oh my God, have you spent the whole day with that guy?" Laurie shrieked.

"Yep."

"And you're happy about it?"

"That doesn't begin to cover it."

Laurie let out a whistle. "You still with him now?"

"Yeah, we're at a wine bar. It's fantastic, you wouldn't believe! I don't know if I've ever been anywhere so fancy."

"Wow, so he's rich, too. Unless you're seriously digging into the bank right now?"

"We haven't discussed it, but I highly doubt I am. He's... it's hard to explain. But yes, sort of, to your first question. I think."

Jareth raised his eyebrows, and Sarah winced. It was tough talking to her best friend about him when he was sitting right there.

"One moment, Laurie, okay?" she said.

"No prob."

"Hey, Jareth, I'm going to go to the ladies' room to talk to Laurie."

"You wish to talk about me without my overhearing?" he inquired.

"In a word, yes. Deal with it. Where's the bathroom?"

He only looked a little put out as he pointed her in the right direction.

"Okay, I can talk again," Sarah said as she entered the bathroom. Or rather, she entered the sitting room outside the bathroom, with gorgeous chairs, a long mirror, and a myriad of moisturizing creams and any other number of beauty products. She saw down in one of the chairs. "He was looking far too interested when I was telling you about him."

Laurie laughed. "Fair enough. So are you going to join us at the hostel tonight?"

"Not a chance," Sarah said. "He's got this great hotel room..."

"Is that all a guy needed all this time, to get you to stick around?" Laurie said teasingly, making it clear she wasn 't serious. "Enough money to get you pretty things?"

"It helps," Sarah joked. "But no, seriously... now that I'm alone I guess I can say it... I've kind of had a thing for this guy for... years. He's... damn, I'm drunk, as I said, we're at a wine bar... he's the one I couldn't forgive all those other guys for not being. For not being him."

"Wow." Laurie was silent for a moment. "Are you just saying that because you've been drinking, or do you really mean it?"

"I'm only _telling _you because I've been drinking," Sarah said, "but believe me, I really mean it."

"So are you guys like... together now?"

Sarah sighed. "I don't think it's possible. I mean... for one thing, I don't really know how he feels. Like, we had an amazing time last night, and such a good time together today, but I have no idea if he feels anywhere near as strongly for me as I do for him. And also, well, he doesn't live in New York, and that's where I'm headed in the fall. So it's not like we can be... you know. Long term."

"Yeah, good point." Laurie sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I get to be with him now. But, er, here's the thing. He's actually free for the next few weeks, and, well... so am I. So I hope you're not too mad, but..."

"But you're going to be doing your trip with him, not with me and the group?" Laurie finished.

Sarah was relieved. "Yeah. That exactly. I hope you're not too upset?"

"A little disappointed, maybe," Laurie admitted, "but if this guy is as big a deal to you as you say, then I think it's the right choice for you to spend what time you can with him."

"Thanks for understanding," Sarah said quietly.

"However," Laurie said sternly, "I have a stipulation. I want to meet him."

"Meet him?" Sarah squeaked.

"Yeah! It's only fair, if you're bailing on us to do your trip with some guy, I should at least get to see and talk to the guy once. Especially if he's as old a friend as you say."

"I'll mention it to him," Sarah said. "See what he says."

The friends bid goodbye, and Sarah found her way back to her booth.

"I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost," Jareth said lightly.

"Sorry," Sarah apologized, settling in next to Jareth and reaching for her wine.

"Gossiping about me?" he asked.

"Mostly. I mean, I had to explain to her why I was ditching her and my other high school friends on our Europe trip to spend the time with a guy she'd never even met. Best friends have to give a pretty good explanation for that kind of thing."

"So what did you tell her?" Jareth asked.

Sarah smirked. "Now, that would be telling. Why do you think I left the table?"

"I'll get it out of you tonight, minx," Jareth growled.

"Oooh, it'll be fun to have you try. Or, um, oh no! Please don't hurt me."

The Goblin King appeared torn between anger and laughter. He settled for narrowing his eyes threateningly.

"We'll see if you take my threats so lightly tomorrow," he warned her.

"Oh! By the way. Laurie wants to meet you. Would that be okay with you?"

He swirled his wine glass as he thought. "I suppose that can be arranged. Shall we meet her for dinner tomorrow?"

"I'll text her and ask." As Sarah took out her phone again, she shook her head. "Man, the two of you meeting... that will be weird. Talk about two worlds colliding."

The phone beeped a few minutes later, with Laurie agreeing to dinner and wanting to know where.

"I'm still deciding," Jareth said. "Tell her we'll let her know tomorrow."

As Sarah looked down at her cell phone again she saw that it was after ten o'clock. "It's getting late," she said, in a low, excited voice.

Jareth glanced at the clock on the wall. "I seem to remember you out much later than this last night. Is someone just eager to get back to the hotel room?" he teased.

Sarah shrugged casually and leaned back, staring idly at the wall instead of the man next to her as she sipped the last of the wine in her glass.

"Well, if you don't feel like heading back, we don't have to, of course," she said mildly. "We can certainly wait a few more hours before you try to prove to me how scared I should be of your punishment... before you see how loud you can make me scream... see whether I start pleading with you to have mercy, not to hurt me anymore, or if instead I end up begging you please, don't stop..."

Sarah glanced over at Jareth nonchalantly, only to see that he was savagely slamming several hundred dollar bills on the table. In a single motion both fluid and feral, he grasped her wrists roughly with one of his hands, while with the other he conjured a crystal and with a quick, staccato flick launched it into the air.

Sarah could hardly breathe, barely seeing the crystal as it shot tightly through the air, and as it hit its zenith, a familiar whirling sensation overtook her, and suddenly they were in the hotel room again.

This time, however, while Jareth appeared in the room upright- his right hand still gripping her wrists tightly- Sarah materialized in the same sitting position she'd had at the bar. Unfortunately, mere air had replaced her seat, and so she reeled backwards dizzily. The only thing that stopped her from falling on her butt was Jareth's hold on her.

Instead of helping her up, though, he swung her around by her wrists and, taking several quick steps backwards, jerked her forward so that she landed face-down on the carpeted floor. Before Sarah time to do much besides gasp, she felt his knee pressing into her back, pinning her to the floor. His hand pressed her head to the floor, but from the side of her head, so that instead of suffocating against the carpet her cheek was mashed against the ground.

"Well, hello, there," he said.

"Hi," Sarah said breathlessly.

"You know," he said casually, as he took his hand from her head so that he could gather her arms and tie them behind her back, with some kind of soft, yet firm rope, "I hadn't originally planned this to be a major punishment."

Instead of tying her wrists together, like she'd expected, he seemed to be tying together the whole length of her forearms, wrist to elbow, elbow to wrist.

"It was a minor infraction, after all." He finished with her arms. She tried to move them, but found them to be completely immobile. Next he straddled her bottom, and turned his attention to tying together her ankles. "I thought, a minor spanking, just my hand and your bare bottom for five minutes or so, and that would be the end of it."

Her ankles were now secure. Jareth grabbed her by her bound arms and jerked her to her feet, though with her ankles tied so tightly together she couldn't do much but wobble. He picked her up, and threw her on the bed, face up, so that her arms were squashed underneath her body.

"But you..." Jareth crawled up her, slowly, until he was right above her, his face inches from hers, his body covering her body. "You seemed so eager, so sure my punishment would be _fun_. And then you _taunted_ me with it." He shook his head and clucked his tongue disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry," Sarah whispered.

Jareth pulled back from her, straddling her hips as he regarded her, then he shook his head as he tutted.

"You know what?" he said. "I don't think you are."

He conjured a crystal and threw it at her. Suddenly, all her clothing- including her bra, her panties, everything- were gone. The only thing that remained were the ropes around her arms and her ankles.

Sarah could feel his hardness pressing against her lower pelvis, just inches above her pussy, though he was still fully clothed. She squirmed and whimpered, trying to shift her hips so that the bulge pressing into her would go just a bit lower...

"Mmm, you really want it, don't you?" Jareth smiled nastily, as he crawled backwards, only letting the hardness beneath his pants brush against her wetness so softly and quickly she whimpered.

"Come back," she moaned.

He was sitting at the foot of the bed now, examining her naked body, arms uncomfortably crushed under her body, ankles bound. Her bare breasts were thrust upwards, both because she was forced to arch her back to accommodate her bound arms beneath her, and because of the unnatural angle of her arms and shoulders. Her skin was smooth and creamy, and she had just a small patch of hair between her legs.

Jareth took her ankles in his hand and pushed them forward, towards the rest of her body, with her knees facing outwards; so that as he forced her ankles ahead, her thighs were pressed open, exposing her soaking womanhood to the world.

"Well, look at that," he murmured, and took in a deep breath through his nose. "Mmm... I can smell you from here."

He took his pinky finger and brushed it against her pussy, and even at that light contact she moaned and tried to press herself against his finger; but after a moment it pulled it away, completely soaking wet.

"You are really turned on right now, aren't you, Sarah?" Jareth asked her in a low voice. "Answer me."

"Yes, Jareth."

"You want me very badly, don't you?"

She moaned. "Yes, I do."

"How badly?"

Sarah whimpered and thrust her hips upwards and around, squirming. "So badly, I want you so badly."

"Beg me," he said. "Beg me to fuck you."

"Please, Jareth, _please _fuck me."

He brushed his finger so close that it almost touched her womanhood, so close she could feel the heat of his fingers and the movement of the air around them... then he pulled it away at the last moment. Sarah let out a little strangled scream.

"You're going to have to beg harder than that."

"Please, Jareth, please, I'm begging you, I'll do anything, just fuck me, please please fuck me, I beg you."

"Hmm." Jareth looked Sarah up and down again for a moment, and licked the lone finger pinky finger he'd used to touch her. "No."

Sarah forced her head up to look at him. "What?" she cried, desperately.

"I... said... _no_," he told her again, tauntingly, and he pushed himself off of the bed.

"But- but-"

"Oh, and you're all tied up too," Jareth said, in mock concern. "So you can't even use your own fingers to satisfy yourself. You'll just have to lie there... dripping wet... wanting me so badly you'll beg and plead, and I still won't fuck you..."

Sarah just made an incoherent whimpering sound.

Jareth walked the few steps to the head of the bed, and leaned over, his lips so close to her. "Still so convinced you'll enjoy my punishment?" he whispered in her ear.

"Please..." she whispered back.

"No," he said, smugly. "As I mentioned before, I have some business that demands my attention. I'll be back in... oh, probably a few hours. Don't go anywhere." He threw his head back and laughed at his own joke.

With that, Jareth conjured a crystal, threw it into the air, and disappeared.

Sarah nearly growled in frustration. That bastard! Well, if he expected to find her still tied up in bed like this when he returned, he'd better have another think coming. She straightened her legs and, after several failed tries, managed to roll herself onto her stomach. Hot and bothered as she was, she tried her best to concentrate on the rope coiled around her arms, trying to feel her way to the knots so she could begin to free herself.

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A/N: Well, there was kind of some more explicit lemon for those of you who asked... even if it was evil and unfulfilling. Best I can do. Jareth can be so mean sometimes, can't he? ;-D  
Hope I wasn't cheating too much by getting Jareth tipsy and Sarah drunk in order for them to be a little bit honest for once. These two just refuse to let down their guard!

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A great big thanks go out to all my reviewers, I love you guys so much! Special thanks to those of you who reviewed Chapter 3:  
**falling-alone**: I have a really good feeling about this story, even though it gets a lot fewer reviews than Thrall (which I'm also planning to continue, it just doesn't seem to flow the way FC does). I think there's a really good chance that I'll keep going with this story a while... maybe even finish it! **GeeAnnaB**: I appreciate the offer... though it's hard to know if we'd be a match without some examples of what sorts of things you'd have changed as a beta or otherwise a comment about the story? But thank you so much for the review!  
**LadyNorth76**: I've gotten this comment a couple of times. I'm reaaally sorry, I'm just not a fan of sex scenes (I've even written that in my profile, lol!). I'm not against them morally or anything, I just don't have much interest. I skip them when they're in other fic or books, so I can't imagine I'd be very good at writing them. As is already becoming apparent and will only be more so in the coming chapters, my interest in that kinda thing lies in a slightly different direction...  
**artseblis**: I **really** appreciated this review. It's so great to see a reader actually responding to how the characters are feeling and to get some reassurance I'm getting the emotion across! Do you want to know one way or another how this will all end, or do you prefer being nervous?  
**Lakara Valentine**: I tried PM-ing you about the beta thing, but didn't get a response. Anyway, thank you so much for the review! As to the sex scenes, same thing I said to LadyNorth76 above :(  
**Serenity-Hermione Angel**: Glad you're enjoying it and that you're finding it realistic! I just hope it's remained so in this chapter.  
**L'douenna**: Thank you for the proverb pat! And also I'm very happy to know that people are finding their emotions compelling. After reading looooots of Labyrinth fanfic, I've come to the conclusion that a good fic nearly always has two factors that are way too often lacking: Jareth as a multi-dimensional character who has insecurities and other feelings that aren't simply "I love Sarah / I hate Sarah", and a Sarah who is not a total pushover. Which is not to say she can't have her own insecurities and issues.  
**EmpressHimiko**: Thank you! I plan to!  
**UndergroundDaydreams**: I'm really glad to see you say that, because that's the main part I was unsure about and wanted to run by a beta. ESPECIALLY since it turned out that the formatting was messed up- there were supposed to be line breaks between their conversation snippets and what Sarah was thinking/feeling. What is it that FF.N has against line breaks, anyway?  
**HazlgrnLizzy**: Thanks!


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